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Berlin pulling a trailer. Both the trailer and the scooter had a defnite 50s aesthetic. When this was unsuccessful, IWL switched to smaller, lighter scooters. Something tells me, however, that they may have made them too small. The ones in the museum, at least, were positively tiny. The Berlin Scooter with a helpful mannequin to explain who might enjoy it. The matching trailer was a fun surprise. Motorbike Museum… a time journey through the history of East German motorbike produc- tion.” Any motorcycle afcionado is familiar with BMW’s Motorrad division. Before WWII, there were of course many other German motorcycle manufacturers. Many of these factories, locat- ed in what would become East Germany, would be pillaged by the conquering Soviet troops, only to be restarted as motorcycle producers specifcally for the East German market. Your faithful correspondent in front of one of the few BMWs in the museum, which were made with the BMW brand but in East Germa- ny. One of Kawasaki's Cafe Racer-style bikes, the Z900RS The BMW without me standing in the way. It’s an R35 One of the funnier looking IWL scooters built in 1950 with a 342cc engine. The museum includes over 140 motorcycles and The miniscule “Weasel” scooter from IWL scooters primarily from two East German motorcycle The museum itself has a fascinating history. It was brands: Simson, which filed for bankruptcy in 2002, created in 2009, thanks to the passion and energy of and MZ, or Motorenwerke Zschopau, which did not its creator. He grew up with MZ motorcycles, and be- survive privatization after the reunifcation of Germa- gan collecting and restoring older models with his son. ny. It also includes a few scooters from the short-lived When the collection grew to over a hundred models, he IWL motorcycle division, or Industriewerke Ludwigs- knew it was time to open a museum- a smart move for felde, which ceased motorcycle production in 1965. anyone with over a hundred of anything. Eventually, he found the perfect space for the museum, in two arches For what it’s worth, the IWL scooters were easily the underneath the city train tracks. With more than 1,000 most entertaining (that is, funny looking) in the entire Setting up the “Globe of Speed” square meters, there was plenty of room for all the bikes museum. There was a two-seater scooter called the and even some creative displays, like one featuring a recreational scene complete with a wooden rowboat, 14 APRIL 2018 15